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THIS IS WHAT IT SOUNDS LIKE WHEN DOVES CRY (AND BY DOVES I DO MEAN MOMS OF TODDLERS)

9:17 pm

Listen up, I am about to lay some truth on you and you may not be ready for it… babies are super easy. I now accept this as a fact. You may be a new mom with a new baby reading this, thinking I am clueless/insane because babies are difficult. I am not. They are not. I assure you. Do you want to know where my motherly wisdom stems from? It stems from the sweet, innocent, angel baby I had, morphing into a stubborn, smacking, spitting, shouting, hair pulling, tantrum throwing toddler.

Wow.

To say that I am unprepared for this stage of Sophie’s development would be a superb understatement.

Previously, in the time I like to call AD (angel days) I would put Sophie to bed, before she dozed off we would enjoy a very sweet cuddle and maybe an Eskimo kiss. Now, in the DD (demon days) phase bed time sparks off a huge tantrum which includes (but is never, ever limited to) smacking me in the face, biting me, screaming “mommy out” or occasionally getting dumpy little fingers forced into my eye sockets and or nostrils.

The thing is, it is completely unrealistic to evaluate Sophie’s behavior by comparing it to that of a competent adult – which is what I am doing. I would venture a guess that it is what most parents do? I think we are prone to overanalyzing and misinterpreting our children’s behavior. I found myself describing Sophie’s behavior as the preamble to terrible two’s recently, it’s an unfair label to attach to a child’s behavior though isn’t it?

My method of dealing with Sophie’s tantrums has changed since then. Instead of getting frustrated and annoyed, I make every effort to gently guide her attention to a more positive focus (more positive than laying on the floor screaming I mean). I am trying to stop looking at “terrible two’s” as this inconvenient, defect that needs to be fixed and instead see it for what it is: a vital developmental milestone in Sophie’s emotional growth.

Not a day goes by where I don’t look forward to coming home from work and seeing Sophie’s gorgeous little face. She is my whole universe. Even when she’s trying to claw my eyes out or kill the dog.

How did you manage your child's "terrible two's"? Any secrets to share?

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ABOUT US

Hi, welcome to our blog!

We are a little family of 4. Nikki is the mom, Regan is the dad and Sophie & Gracie are the littles. Oh, our surname is Human.

Our blog offers a fresh approach to parenting a new generation of little humans. We write for the conscious parent (whether you’re a mom, dad, 20-something, 30-something, 50-something grown-up). Our goal is to reach parents who are looking for more. While our blog serves to document our unique parenting journey, it is also a very relatable observation on modern parenting and modern childhood.